‘Save and restore KK library’

Moves to tear down an old library in Kota Kinabalu has got conservationists rattled.

KOTA KINABALU: A conservation group here is urging the Sabah Government not to demolish the 35-year-old Kota Kinabalu library if its structure is ‘salvageabe,’ adding that the city needed two libraries instead of one centralised building.

Heritage Sabah spokesman Richard Nelson Sokial said “it would be wonderful if we could not only save the city library building but also restore it to its original design”.

“Past renovations (on the building) did not do any justice to the original architectural design of the city library building built in the 1970s.

“I have visited the building and there were some serious cracks on some of the beams and internal pillars.

“It would be advisable to first conduct a structural assessment and dilapidation study on whether the current structure was salvagable.

“If the existing library can be saved we must although it needs to be upgraded because it is currently quite run-down,” he said recalling his own childhood spent at the library.

Describing the wonderous pleasures the library held, Sokial said: “I have fond memories of the city library because as it was this very building that instilled in me, the love of books and knowledge.

“As a child, the staircase to the adult reference section, as I recall, used to have a central skylight that allowed natural sunlight into the building.

“The landscaped garden, the open circulation of the library sections made learning such an enjoyable experience.

“They don’t design buildings like this in KK anymore.”

Shift not practical

According to Sokial, who is an architect, he came to know about the demolition when he visited the library recently.

“A Sabah State Library staff told me about the plans to demolish the building, but he did not know what would be built in its place.

“We don’t think it was wise to relocate the city library to a new site in Tg. Aru.

“We believe it may be a good idea to have two separate libraries – one in Tanjung Aru and the other in its existing location in the city.

“By moving everything to Tg. Aru, the traffic congestion problem that currently exists at Tg. Aru will become even worse.

“Currently the city library has a strategic location with views overlooking towards Gaya Street and across to the Town Padang.

“Its external circulation areas, shaded by greenery, make it enjoyable for pedestrians who visit the library.” said Sokial adding that a signature campaign had been launched to save the library.

Sokial, who has been actively campaigning to save the over 100-year old Atkinson Clock Tower here which is being threatened by a proposed 16-storey commercial complex, is against the demolishing the library for the sake of ‘development’.

“If demolishing the city library is an excuse to build yet another commercial building in mall-saturated Kota Kinabalu, I would disagree wholeheartedly”, he said.

The group is supporting a legal suit filed by two local citizens against the state government’s plans to build a 16-storey integration shopping mall not far from the Atkinson Clock Tower which is KK city’s oldest landmark.